Pseudoarchaeology and "Primitive" Reasoning

Kula exchange items (Malinowski)   

 Over in pseudoarchaeology land, mouthy Jimmy Corsetti over in Trump's  America has what-he-thinks-is a "@BrightInsight6":

The term “Hunter-gatherers” is inherently simple/primitive. Gobekli Tepe, which may be the worlds oldest Lunar-Solar calendar, is anything but that. It was clearly created by those with advanced knowledge and capability. Archaeologists cannot see the forest through the trees

First of all hunter-gatherer is a subsistence strategy such as cash grain farming, fruit farming, dairy cattle raising, beef cattle etc. None is inherently more of less 'primitive' than any other in terms of simplicity, backwardness, or a lack of sophistication. That is an indictment of Corsetti's own lack of knowledge in the area rather than archaeologists.

In fact applying a label "primitive" to hunter-gatherer societies overlooks the intricate knowledge, planning, and adaptability groups employing this manner of subsistence exhibit. Far from being rudimentary, hunter-gatherers rely on a deep understanding of their environment, accumulated and refined over generations, to sustain themselves. If we look at it with an informed eye, it isn’t merely survival it is a dynamic, skilled way of life that demands both intellectual and social complexity.

It requires detailed knowledge, hunter-gatherers must be able to identify edible plants, track animal migration patterns, predict seasonal changes, and understand ecological relationships to avoid overexploitation. This isn’t instinct; it is expertise, often encoded in oral traditions, stories, and practices—essentially a living database of environmental data. Anthropological studies, like those of the San people in southern Africa or the Inuit of the Arctic, reveal how such groups store and transmit detailed information about hundreds of species, weather patterns, and terrain, rivaling any modern field guide. I bet Jimmy Corsetti has only a fraction of such knowledge about the resources near his home.

Planning is equally critical to this lifestyle unless a group is not going to be highly mobile and moving from one destroyed ecosystem to the next (which would seem not to be an option at sites like Abu Hureyra and Gobekli Tepe. Sustainability isn’t accidental, it requires foresight. Hunter-gatherers often organize their movements around scattered resources, timing expeditions to coincide with peak abundance, such as fruit ripening or herd migrations. The !Kung of the Kalahari, for example, coordinate group hunts and gathering trips, balancing immediate needs with long-term resource preservation. This might involve leaving certain areas untouched for years or rotating hunting grounds, practices that reflect a strategic calculus akin to modern resource management.

Specialization and social organization further complicate the "primitive" stereotype of people like Corsetti. This also is covered in the anthropological literature - he should read some. While not as rigid as in industrial societies, roles often emerge: skilled hunters, expert gatherers, toolmakers, or healers. Among the Australian Aborigines, for instance, individuals might master specific techniques—like crafting boomerangs or reading subtle landscape cues and then sharing their expertise within the group. Expeditions to distant resources, such as ochre deposits or coastal shellfish beds, could require coordinated efforts, negotiation with neighbouring groups, and even some form of exchange networks, as seen in the exchange of goods across vast distances in prehistoric times. An analogy in recent times is the persistence of the Kula ring ceremonial exchange system of Papua New Guinea studied by the Polish ethnographer Bronisław Malinowski ("Argonauts of the Western Pacific" 1922).

I really think it is not the "archaeologists" (who HAVE read the abundant literature and are among those who are ACTIVELY creating the academic research on this) who have here got the wrong picture of hunter-gatherer subsistence. It most certainly is not the primitive stumble through nature that Corsetti seems mistakenly to have imagined it. It is instead a sophisticated, knowledge-driven system tailored to its context. The assumption of simplicity stems more from a bias inherent in our society towards technological complexity than from any lack of ingenuity on the part of the indigenous groups the pseudoscientists wish to accuse them of to bolster their own notions of superiority. The tools of past and recent hunter gatherers and marginalised indigenous communities (I bet most pseudoarchaeologists could not even name them and say how they were made and used) may differ from ours, but the mastery of their world by such groups is no less impressive.

See also: Nicoletta Maestrim 'Complex Hunter-Gatherers: Who Needs Agriculture?' Thought.co May 26, 2019.

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Madison Grant (1916) "The Passing of the Great Race"

"The Passing of the Great Race: The Racial Basis of European History. " by Madison Grant (1916) C. Scribner's Sons. Influential early 20th century book echoing 19th-century trends,  was perhaps the most influential tract of American scientific racism. It was published in 1916 by the American lawyer, self-proclaimed anthropologist, and eugenics supporter Madison Grant (1865-1937). Grant presents a theory of Nordic superiority, claiming that the Nordic race is inherently superior to other human races. The theory and the book were praised by Adolf Hitler and other members of the National Socialist Party.Grant used the term "Aryan" loosely to mean Indo-European peoples, particularly northern Europeans, in a racialized framework. The book became a bestseller, shaping public perceptions of "Aryan" as a catch-all for Indo-European heritage, far beyond its original Indo-Iranian scope.

Contents Index

Part I - Race, Language, and Nationality
I. Race and Democracy
II. The Physical Foundations of a Race
III. Race and Habitat
IV. Competition Between the Races
V. Race, Language, and Nationality
VI. Race and Language
VII. European Races in the Colonies

Part II - The History of the European Races
I. The Man of the Eolithic
II. The Man of the Paleolithic
III. The Neolithic and the Ages of Metals
IV. The Alpine Race
V. The Mediterranean Race
VI. The Nordic Race
VII. The Teutonic Europe
VIII. The Expansion of the Nordic Race
IX. The Nordic Homeland
X. The Nordic Race Outside Europe
XI. Racial Aptitudes
XII. Arya
XIII. The Origin of the Aryan Languages
XIV. The Aryan Language in Asia


The first section of the book addresses the foundations of ethnicity and Grant's positions on the political issues of the time, particularly eugenics. Grant views human races as biologically determined, attributing different characteristics to each race, and believes these races are in conflict with one another. His focus is on the increasing number of immigrants from non-Nordic European countries, whom he sees as a threat to the fabric of American society. He argues that members of contemporary Protestant American society who can trace their ancestry back to colonial times are being overtaken by immigrants from what he calls "inferior" racial groups. For Grant, the United States has always been a Nordic country, formed by Nordic immigrants from England, Scotland, and the Netherlands during colonial times, and later by immigrants from Ireland and Germany. He expresses particular concern about the immigration of Italians, Eastern European Jews, and the Great Migration of African Americans to the northern United States. He claims that these new immigrants are creating separate societies within the country, forming ethnic lobby groups, criminal syndicates, and political machines that undermine the socio-political structure of the United States and, by extension, its traditional culture. Grant uses population studies, economic utility factors, and labor supply analyses to support his claim that this growing immigration is having a negative impact on American society. He argues that the consequence of this "subversion" is evident in the decline of quality of life, lower birth rates, and the overall corruption of American society. Grant predicts that the Nordic races will eventually become extinct, and that the United States, as it was known, will cease to exist, replaced by a fragmented country or a corrupt caricature of itself. As a countermeasure, he proposes the sterilization of all "undesirable individuals" in order to eradicate the "inferior" races and preserve what he sees as the Nordic purity of the nation.

The second part of the book provides an overview of European prehistory as it was understood at the time of writing, while postulating the existence of three European races—Nordic, Alpine, and Mediterranean—along with their distinct physical and mental characteristics. Grant ties together threads of theory, ethnology, anthropology, and the history of Aryan migration, offering a broad survey of the historical rise, fall, expansion, and contraction of these races from their countries of origin. He speculates about hereditary connections between the Nordic peoples and the Trojans, and between the Prussians and the Spartans. Grant argues that the Alpines would be best suited as farmers, while the Mediterranean peoples would excel in the arts and intellectual pursuits. In contrast, he claims that the Nordic peoples were superior soldiers, sailors, explorers, and, above all, great leaders. Grant follows the racial classifications of Arthur de Gobineau and William Z. Ripley, categorizing the Alpines as the lowest of the three European ethnic groups, with the Nordics representing the pinnacle of civilization. Although he considers the Mediterranean race to be intellectually superior, he argues that the great civilizations of Rome and Greece were only possible through intermixing with the Nordic race. Grant asserts that desirable traits of a people—such as "family life, loyalty, and truth"—are exclusive products of the Nordic race. Whenever such traits appear in non-Nordic cultures, he claims, in a circular argument, that they are evidence of Nordic influence or intermingling, rather than questioning the supposed exclusive Nordic origin of these traits. In addition, this section connects the history of America with that of Europe, particularly focusing on its Nordic nations. 

Toward the end of the book, Grant explores the origins, language, and culture of the Aryans.

The book is credited with having a lasting influence on the modern white supremacy movement in the United States, even in the early 21st century. The book was also the earliest approach to the "Great Replacement" and "white genocide" conspiracy theories due to the mention in it of "race suicide" of Northern Europeans.

Facsimile reprints can be found on the Internet.

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Ariowie Słowianie Polacy. Pradawne dziedzictwo Międzymorza Mariusz Kowalski

         Happy Poles          

Mariusz Kowalski 2024, 'Ariowie Słowianie Polacy. Pradawne dziedzictwo Międzymorza' Biblioteka Wolności (in Polish)

Truly bonkers book  Description

The latest genetic research, combined with recent archaeological discoveries, is fostering new concepts regarding the history of civilization. Recent findings have shown that the Aryans, who founded the Indian and Iranian civilizations and became a symbol of European civilizational superiority, not only originated from the lands of present-day Poland (from a society that developed the Globular Amphora culture between 3000 and 2500 BCE) but were also, in genetic terms, most closely related to modern-day Poles.

A description of the first edition:

The book discusses the history of the formation of Eastern Europe’s distinctive characteristics and presents forecasts regarding its future. It explains the genetic and genealogical foundations of the region’s societal distinctiveness, as well as the geopolitical, civilizational, and cultural implications of these differences. It also illustrates the generational rhythm of transformations that have taken place over the past centuries. We hope that the information and reflections presented in this work will contribute to strengthening the self-worth of Poles, the inhabitants of the Intermarium region, and all of Eastern Europe, while also inspiring optimism about the future of our part of the world and European civilization as a whole....

It is pretty annoying to see the archaeology mistreated in this way eine hervorragend nationale Wissenschaft?

Charles Morris "The Aryan Race"

Charles Morris 1888, "The Aryan Race: Its Origins and Its Achievements"

      Charles Morris     

In this late nineteenth century popular history book, Charles Morris attempted to explore the origins and development of the Aryan race. This work presented "Aryan" as the collective label for Indo-European peoples, celebrating their supposed "cultural and historical achievements". Morris was writing for a broad readership, blending linguistic ideas with racial speculation, typical of late 19th-century popular nonfiction.

The book delves into the ancient history of the Indo-European people, tracing their migration patterns and cultural influences. The book also examines the role of the Aryan race in shaping world history, including their impact on religion,  language, and politics. Morris provides a comprehensive analysis of the Aryan race, drawing on a range of sources including archaeological evidence, linguistic research, and historical accounts. The book is an engaging and informative read for anyone interested in the history of human civilization and the origins of modern society.1888. The origin and achievements of the Aryan Race outlining the history of the great and noble family of mankind which has played so striking a part upon the stage of the world. Contents: Types of Mankind; Home of the Aryan; Aryan Outflow; Aryans at Home; Household and the Village; Double System of Aryan Worship; Course of Political Development; Development of Language; Age of Philosophy; Aryan Literature; Other Aryan Characteristics; Historical Migrations; Future Status of Human Races" (Amazon, advertising a recent facsimile reprint).

Another from Good Reads for another recent reprint:

Written in 1888, long before the term had any negative connotations, The Aryan Race: Its Origins and its Achievements opens with a racial definition of who Aryans and goes on to show how modern Indo-European languages clearly come from a common root. This leads Charles Morris to the Pontic Steppe between the Caspian and the Black Sea as the original Aryan homeland.
There follows a description of ancient Aryan households and farming methods, and how these led to the development of legal systems, cultural and religious practices and political structures.
An in-depth analysis of the Rig-Vedas and the Zend Avesta shows their similarity to Greek and Roman myths and the parallels with the Norse Edda as well as the Irish Cuchulainn.
The late 19th century was a time of unparalleled European supremacy over the world, and the final chapter foresees the continuation of unrivalled Aryan dominance throughout the 20th century and beyond.
Events haven't played out as Morris predicted, but nonetheless, his unbridled confidence teaches the modern reader a much-needed lesson: The only path to racial preservation lies in physical geographical separation, not Aryan rule over other races. |

"A treasure-trove of facts, legends and stories, all reflecting the collective genius of Aryan peoples across the centuries."

"A politically incorrect take on white history and culture from before the idea of political incorrectness even existed" 

And an 'anti-advert' from Books-a-million:

"[...] What began in the late 19th century as a startlingly inept work of wishful thinking, outrageous conjecture, and bald racism masquerading as scholarship transformed itself, in the late 20th century, into a foundational work of neo-Nazi philosophy. Positing an heretofore-and subsequently-entirely unknown culture of Indo-Europeans as the standard bearers of all human progress and initiative, this 1888 work strings together a portrait of the "Aryan race" from carefully chosen scraps of religious, political, and social systems from across the Old World into a house of historical cards. Useless as a guide to human cultural origins, "The Aryan Race" is nevertheless essential reading for anyone hoping to understand the modern subculture of white supremacists, and how they come by their extreme doctrines. Charles Morris (1833-1922) also wrote A Manual of Classical Literature, Aryan Sun-Myths: The Origin of Religion, Heroes of Discovery in America, and The San Francisco Calamity."

Morris was a prolific writer, many of his works can be read online. The Aryans book can currently be downloaded here.
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Anna Zaczkowska "Cienie aryjskich przodków. Mitologia polityczna w Rosji"

 

Anna Zaczkowska 2016, "Cienie aryjskich przodków. Mitologia polityczna w Rosji" Wydawnictwo Naukowe "Śląsk" 424 str. (in Polish)

From the Introduction:

The influence of neopagan movements on contemporary Russian culture is linked to political changes that occurred after the fall of communism. Russian society sought new ideas to replace the discredited Soviet myths. The aim of my work is to examine contemporary political mythology in Russia, primarily based on neopagan texts and official ideology, which intersect and together shape popular culture [...].

It should be noted that both neopagan mythology and political mythology are present in contemporary Russian popular culture. This analysis is dedicated to the intriguing phenomenon of the interpenetration of political mythology, official propaganda, and neopaganism, which represents a significant current in modern Russian culture. Today, there is a kind of trend toward neopaganism in Russia. Many neopagan elements and themes can be found in popular culture—new literary genres [...] or musical styles [...] have emerged, drawing inspiration from how neopaganism has reinterpreted the cultural heritage of the ancient Slavs. The mythologies of neopagan movements constitute a form of Hobsbawm’s “invented tradition,” created to replace the communist vision of history at a moment of state crisis.

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Table of Contents

I. Introduction / 7

1. Conceptualization of Basic Terms and the State of Research on Political Myth / 11
2. Research Methods and Techniques / 21

II. Political Myths / 26

1. The Myth of the Father / 26
   a) The Emperor / 28
   b) The Prince, Tsar, and Emperor / 41
   c) The Party Leader / 72
   d) The Contemporary Myth of the Father (President) / 101
2. The Myth of the Mother / 118
   a) The Great Mother Goddess. The Concept of Matriarchy / 118
   b) Reconstructions of the Religious Worldview of the Slavs (Mother Moist Earth) / 124
   c) The Orthodox Representation of Women and Motherhood. Ecclesia, Theotokos / 128
   d) The Church (Ecclesia) / 129
   e) The Mother of God. Theotokos / 132
   f) Holy Russia / 139
   g) The Contemporary Myth of the Mother (Popular Culture and Neopaganism) / 143

III. Russian Neopaganism: An Overview of Issues / 156

1. The State of Research on New Religious Movements / 156
   a) Wicca / 170
   b) The Volkisch Movement and Heathenry (Germanic Neopaganism) / 175
2. The Main Distinctive Features of Russian Neopaganism / 195
3. Eurasianism and the Doctrine of Russian Neopagan Groups / 203
4. Traditionalism and Traditionalist Philosophy in the Mythmaking Pursuits of Neopagans / 206
5. A Review of Selected Russian Neopagan Groups / 214
   a) The Book of Veles: The Sacred Text of Russian Neopagan Groups / 224
   b) The Influence of Boris Rybakov’s Views on the Ideology of Neopagan Groups / 237
   c) The Union of Slavic Communities of Slavic Native Faith (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской Родной Веры — ССО СРВ) / 246
   d) The Circle of Pagan Tradition (Круг Языческой Традиции — КЯТ) / 254
   e) Inglism (Ancient Russian Inglian Church of Orthodox Old Believers-Inglings —
   Инглиизм) / 265
6. Neopagan Ritual / 276
7. The Influence of Neopagans on Popular Culture / 282
   a) Popular Culture, Mass Culture, and Contemporary Participatory Culture / 282
   b) Distinctive Features of Slavic Fantasy: Slavic Fantasy as a Neopagan Literary Genre Based on Selected Works / 289
   • Racism and Colonialism in Fantasy / 306
   • Yuri Nikitin / 312
   • Maria Semyonova / 322
   • Sergey Alekseyev / 333
   • Viktor Pelevin / 343

IV. Distinctive Features of the Political Myth in Contemporary Russia / 350

1. The Anthropological Roots of Political Myth / 350
2. The Influence of Neopagan Mythmaking / 357
3. Popular Culture as a Form of Contemporary Invented Tradition / 366
4. The Russian Political Myth Based on Conservatism / 376
5. The Authoritarian Model of Power and Popular Culture / 380
6. Contemporary Mother Russia / 382

V. Conclusion / 385
Bibliography / 390

The whole book is downloadable HERE.

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Joseph Pomeroy Widney’s "Race Life of the Aryan Peoples"

Joseph Pomeroy Widney’s Race Life of the Aryan Peoples is a two-volume work published in 1907 by Funk and Wagnalls. At the time, Widney was the chancellor of the University of Southern California, and his book was intended for a general audience. The work reflects the late 19th- and early 20th-century belief in a distinct Aryan race, purportedly descended from the original speakers of Proto-Indo-European. Widney presented the Aryan race as a driving force in shaping human civilization, tracing its influence from ancient Hittites to contemporary Anglo-Americans.

Widney’s work embodies the romanticized and expansive use of the term "Aryan" that was prevalent in popular discourse of the era. The book is a detailed study of Indo-European-speaking peoples as understood in its time. The first volume focuses on the early history of the so-called Aryan peoples, exploring their migration patterns and cultural developments. The second volume delves into the social and political structures of these societies, including their religious beliefs, family systems, and political institutions.  His perspective, rooted in the racial classifications of his time, places Aryans as one of three major branches of the broader Caucasian race, alongside the Semitic and Hamitic races. The book also discusses the "racial characteristics" of the various subgroups of the Aryan race and their constituent ethnic groups. Widney believed that these characteristics were determined by the soil and climate of the original homeland of each subgroup or individual ethnic group.

Widney outlines his belief that the "Proto-Aryans" originated in Central Asia around 7000 years ago and later expanded to establish what he termed the great "Aryan empires." He identified these as empires primarily associated with Indo-European languages, including the Hittite Empire, Persian Empire, Mauryan Empire, Macedonian Empire, Roman Empire, Gupta Empire, Spanish Empire, First French Empire, and British Empire. According to Widney, this expansion ultimately led to the colonization of North America by the "Aryans," culminating in what he described as the manifest destiny of "Aryan Americans" to build an American Empire.

Excerpt from Race Life of the Aryan Peoples 

Every masterful race of the world's history has its epic. It is the tale of the fathers told to the sons. But side by side with the spoken epic is another, unspoken, yet truer and deeper. It is the tale of the race life, not told in words, but lived in deeds done. And the epic lived is always more wonderful than the epic told. The true epic is found, not in the story of the battles or of the deeds of the rulers, but in the race life. In the perspective of time men become less, man grows greater. Race life is broader, deeper, richer than the life of any man,or of any men. The great men of a race are only an evolution of its race force; and the reserve force is greater than its product. They are indices, race marks. The great man is as the mountain peak; for the mountains that loom up above the wide-spread plain are not the land; they are only the land-marks, marks of the land. Kings are the accident; the people, the law. The Greek colonies, not Ilium and Atreides Agamemnon, are the true epic of Hellas, vastly more marvelous. So of the Aryan folk; not the Vedas, not the Avestas, not the Iliad, or the Nibelungen, or Beowulf, but the marvelous tale of what the A ryan man has lived—how he has subdued the wild and waste lands—how he has made the desert to blossom as the rose—how he has built up empire with ax and plow, and has sailed the unknown paths of the seas —these are his true race epic . The others are only as the fairy tales which old wives tell to their children . We read between the lines of the written epic to find the truer and greater epic which lies beyond. This book is an attempt to unfold somewhat of the race epic which the Aryan peoples have lived. ..." 

— Joseph Pomeroy Widney, Race Life of the Aryan Peoples (1907), vol. I, pgs. iii-iv.

Extract:

"Every land is filled with the nameless graves of races which have died out, from the Mound Builders of the Mississippi Valley to the Hittites of upper Syria, or the Negroid of the lower Euphratean plain—disappeared from the earth; supplanted by some other and more efficient race type. The earth is only one vast grave of dead and buried races-even the tombs forgotten until the spade of the antiquary chances upon them. It is some times said that these failing races did not have the same chance as the Aryan. In one sense this is true ; for races seem to differ in original capacity for development. The Bushman of Australia apparently exhausted his capacity in the evolution of the boomerang; the Indian of the Orinoco, in his blow-pipe and poisoned arrow. But original capacity is gift, not evolution. It takes hold upon some deeper law of being. There are tongues, there are races, there are civilizations, which seem to lack the power of more than a limited growth. They quickly reach a maturity of a low type; then seem to have in them no further possibility of development. But in an other sense they have had the same chance as the Aryan. They, too, have had earth, and sea, and sky. But while the Aryan out of these same material surroundings has evolved a civilization of the higher type, they only evolved the lower type. And the Aryan did not borrow; he evolved. The question naturally arises, Why did they not do the same? We can only drop back upon the one explanation-lack of original capacity.... Every racial division of mankind seems to have a type of civilization which, and which only, is normal to that especial race . All other types seem to be abnormal and alien to it. Its own type is normal because it is in harmony with the individual race type of mind, and has been evolved by it. A borrowed civilization ignores and violates this law, for the types are dissimilar. It is not a difference of degree, but an unlikeness of type. This fact explains why borrowed civilizations have always proven to be failures when taken from radically unlike peoples."

— Joseph Pomeroy Widney, Race Life of the Aryan Peoples (1907), vol. II, pgs. 234-235.

He was quite selective in identifying these "Aryans":

The Eastern branch, according to Widney, included the Indo-Aryans (including the Maldivians) and the Iranian peoples (including Kurds).

The Western branch included the Armenians, Balts, Slavs, Romani, Albanians, Greeks, Romanics, Teutonics, Celts, Anglo-Americans (includes the European-Americans and the Anglo-Canadians), Québécois, North American White Hispanics, White Latin Americans, Anglo-Australians, Anglo-New Zealanders, British diaspora in Africa, and Boers.

Reference:
Widney, Joseph P  'Race Life of the Aryan Peoples' New York: Funk & Wagnalls. 1907 in Two Volumes: Volume One--The Old World Volume Two--The New World ISBN B000859S6O

External links 

• Race Life of the Aryan Peoples Vol.1--"The Old World"--Google PDF download:
• Race Life of the Aryan Peoples vol.2--"The New World"--Google PDF download:
  
  

.This book is also widely available as a facsimile reprint on various bookshops of the Right. 

"Ancient" Texts and New Church

 

In Omsk, Siberia, a unique spiritual movement took root in 1992 (fully formed by 1998), created by the esotericist Aleksander Khinevich ("Pater Diy "). It is known Vedic Slavism or Ynglism/Ingliism (Russian: Инглиизм ), but its official name is Ancient Russian Ingliistic Church of Orthodox Old Believers-Inglings (Russian: Древнерусская Инглиистическая Церковь Православных Староверов-Инглингов – Drevnerusskaya Ingliisticheskaya Cerkov'Pravoslavnykh Staroverov-Inglingov). This group emerged as a distinct branch of Slavic Neopaganism, or Rodnoveria, with its followers identifying as "Orthodox Old Believers" or "Inglini".

At the start of Perestroika, Aleksandr Khinevich was engaged in hypnosis and parapsychology. He gained prominence during the late 1980s occult boom, delivering public lectures on esotericism, leading mass healing sessions, and exploring UFOs. In 1990, he established the Center for the Study of Paranormal Phenomena "Jiva-Astra" in Omsk, which offered services like "exorcism" and commercial healing. By 1991, this center evolved into the neo-pagan Old Russian Inglistic Church "Jiva Temple of Inglia," promoting a "universal truth" and "primordial religion" supposedly brought by "white people - Aryans" from space. The community was officially registered in Omsk on October 29, 1992. Since then, the Inglis Church has published a periodical bulletin called Jiva-Astra.

Khinevich detailed his beliefs in the book “Inglism. A Short Course,” released in Omsk in 1992, followed by the “Slavic-Aryan Vedas” series, first published around the late 1990s and early 2000s. He presented these works as translations of ancient texts.

In 2004, the Inglis Church established "The Temple of Perun's Wisdom" at its headquarters in a rented wooden house in Omsk, with support from local businesses. This "ancient Russian temple" hosted two theological seminaries—one for men and one for women—as well as a Sunday school named "Midgard," all backed by local Ministry of Education bodies. The curriculum centered on the "Russian Vedas" (specifically "The Book of Veles" as edited by A. I. Asov) and Khinevich’s own writings.

Initially, the movement had a strong political slant, emphasizing the cult of the Russian nation, the revival of paganism as a national identity, and reverence for "Aryan" ancestors. Khinevich aligned himself with the All-Russian public patriotic movement "Russian National Unity," which was then the largest national-radical organization in Russia.

Teachings
Scholar Kaarina Aitamurto has characterized it as a movement with a clear doctrine, a strong leadership structure, and a deep emphasis on esoteric wisdom.

At its core, Ingliism defies traditional religious labels like polytheism or monotheism, according to its founder. Instead, it reveres "ancestors"— specifically Aryans — whom it claims have been mistakenly labelled as gods. While its foundation is predominantly Slavic, the movement weaves in threads from Germanic, Persian, Indian, and Egyptian traditions. All deities, in this worldview, are seen as expressions of a single, supreme universal God, giving Ingliism a monistic theological flavor.

The teachings of the Ynglists combine esotericism with significant influence from the teachings of Helena Blavatsky, the ideology of Nazism and radical neo-paganism. Ynglism actively promotes ideas about the superiority of whites ("the great RACE") over other races, radical racial anti-Semitism , Christianophobia and intolerance towards various groups. According to Ynglism, different races are aliens from different constellations, therefore it is claimed that interracial marriages lead to the "degradation" of the physical and spiritual spheres. The first people on Earth were the "Slavs and Aryans" who settled the polar continent of the country of Daaria on the northern continent more than 450 thousand years ago. It is claimed that in the world there is a racial struggle between the "Slavs and Aryans" ("whites") against the "greys" - the Jews, who have reptilian features. Like many neopagan groups, they harbor a deep antagonism toward Christianity and extend similar sentiments toward Islam. The swastika and its modifications are used as a symbol of the "white race" and is the symbol of the Ynglism movement. A healthy lifestyle is promoted , including the consumption of natural and clean products, and sobriety (Shnirelman V. A. 2015). Followers of Ingliism assert that their beliefs stem from an ancient "Russian spiritual culture". Their teachings are enshrined in a collection of sacred texts called "the Slavic-Aryan Vedas", declared to be a translation of ancient "Slavic-Aryan" texts, the oldest part of which, according to the teaching, was created 40 thousand years ago (Aitamurto, 2007). In fact, the "Slavic-Aryan Vedas" were written by Khinevich himself (Shnirelman, 2015 , volume 1, pp. 299–302). The linguistic myth of Ynglists includes the idea of the presence of several types of writing and, accordingly, languages among the "Slavs and Aryans" in ancient times (Polinichenko, 2012). Khinevich also created an alphabet, called "bukvitsa", and an “H’Arrian (Aryan) arithmetic” and “Old Slavic grammar”.



Vedic Slavism has not escaped controversy. Historians and various Rodnover communities in Russia have voiced strong criticism. They argue that the movement relies on conspiracy theories and discredited ideas that often veer into the realm of fantasy. In 2014, the Inglings faced a decisive rejection when they were expelled from the Slavic Assembly in Ljubljana.

Most Rodnover groups and scholars dismiss the Slavic-Aryan Vedas as fabrications. Beyond scholarly critique, the movement has drawn ire for its extremist tendencies, particularly its anti-Semitic and chauvinistic views. Alexander Khinevich himself has faced legal scrutiny in the past for racism. In Slovakia, detractors have even coined a mocking nickname for the Inglings—"Ufoslovania"—reflecting the skepticism and disdain they inspire.

References

Aitamurto, Kaarina 2007. Russian Rodnoverie: Negotiating Individual Traditionalism . The 2007 International Conference. Globalization, Immigration, and Change in Religious Movements. June 7—9, 2007. Bordeaux, France. CESNUR (2007).

Kaarina Aitamurto 2016, Paganism, traditionalism, nationalism: narratives of Russian Rodnoverie . London : Routledge, Taylor and Francis.

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